Brent's Blog

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

DEEP FREEZE

Where do I begin, it has been a while since I have made to town. The cold tempetures that interior Alaska is known for finally hit us. we had 3 days of -40 with a low of -48, everything froze up including our heater, I had to constantly blow out the line and clean the fliter on the tank but we made it through. We had some pretty cold mornings but both Kyla and I survived. Luckly we were able to be very productive during the cold snap. Since it is not so good to run the dogs at those temps, It gave me some time to think about food drops for both the Copper Basin and the Quest and we actaully finished up the food drops for the Copper Basin. We have also had some visitors. Joe and Anna came up with joes Parents, Josh with his mom and Thom with his Brother. It was great to have these guys up. It is always fun to share my crazy way of life with people who have a totally different lifestyle. I really need to thank all of my friends and family for all of there support. This whole season would not be possible with out their help. Between my parents and my friends back in town all of my resposiblities that I cant deal with while I am out here are being taken care of by them. Joe, Josh and Thom all have been doing alot of expediting for me in town, Josh has filled in as my property manager and has found renters for my rental cabins, and my dad (from MN) has been working with Josh to keep eveything up and running properely. This has been priceless, I can not thank these guys enough, I am not in this alone that is for sure. As for the dogs, after the cold snap we were right back at it . I have had to make some cuts so that I can focus more on the stronger dogs so we are down to 23. While Thom and his Brother Ryan were around they were able to help me get a few longer runs in with all the dogs which was awesome. It is hard to ask someone who doesnt mush everyday to go on an 16 hour run but between the Walker brothers they did it. Ryan had never mushed in his life and he went 58 miles and loved every minute of it. Then Thom followed up with an all night 55 miler to finish off the 113 mile run with a bang at 830 Am. There is so much more going on but I would be here all day trying to tell all the stories. From the large burn on my hand to the jog out of Hutlinnana Hot springs in the middle of the night it has been an adventure. Thanks to everyone that has been watching our progress, it is great to see so many people interested in what we are up too. With the Coper Basin just over 2 weeks away race season is upon us, and we will be ready. Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year, Until next time Happy Trails